Harness-saddle



UNITED STATES;

Patented February 16, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES W. MILLER, OF CANTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE GILLIAM HARNESS-SADDLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent Ne, 752,404, dated February 16, 1904.

Application filed December 12,1903: Serial No. 184,903 (No model.) I

' following isa full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The object of this invention is to provide a flexible harness saddle or coach-pad which will au'tomaticallyadapt itself to the back of any horse on which it is used and in which one may employ a continuous back-strap.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter described, and pointed out definitely in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of a harness-saddle containing my invention, the pad on one side being broken away. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view thereof withthe pad removed; and Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views on the lines 3 8 and 4 4, respectively, of Fig. 2.

Referring to the parts by letters, A represents the skirt of a harness-saddle or coachpad. It is made of thick leather and is continuous from end to end. O represents the jockey, which is secured upon the middle part of the skirt, and B represents the continuous hack-strap, which lies between the skirt and jockey. All of the foregoing features of construction are old, but valuable. Heretofore, however, harness-saddles having a continuous back-strap have also employed and included heavy trees of wood or iron, which render the saddle heavy and inflexible and unadaptable to difierent horses. With the saddle shown in the drawings and embodying my invention these desirable features of construction are retained and the heavy inflexible tree is dispensed with. It will be noticed that the middle part of the skirt is provided with a long slot at, extending on both sides of the middle thereof, which slot is adapted to receive the middle part of the back-strap, so that the mid- OF CANTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION dle part of the jockey will lie flat, andso per mit the usual ornamental seat F to be secured thereon. v

1) represents ametal plate which supports the two side members of a flexible wire tree and also affords means for connecting, to the saddle the seat, the hook, and the 'crupper loop, this latter being in the constructionshown an integral part of the plate. Through this plate are two holes cl d which register with corresponding holes in. the parts of the skirt andjockey, which lie, respectively, in

front of and behind the slot at, which receives tersunk on its under side to receive the head theback-strap. One of these holes is coun of the screw by which the seat F is secured to the saddle. Around the other hole on the under side of the plate is a rectangular depression at, adapted to receive not Q of a bolt G, by which the hook E is secured in place. On each side of these two holes are two other holes 6? d5, which are connected by a curved groove d. On each side of the plate D is one section, E, of a flexible wire tree, said section being U-shaped. The two legs e e of ea'ch section passv through the holes d d of the plate D, and the loop of the tree-section lies in the curved groove d. The two legs of each tree-section lie in contact with the under side of the skirt, to which they are clamped,

as by a clamping-plate H, which is held in place by the terret-screw and its bur. By so clamping the two legs of each tree-section endwisemotion of the latter is prevented and the skirt is held in position by said tree-sections. The described saddle is flexible, because the tree-sections can bend so as to permit the saddle to automatically adapt itself to the back of any horsei The saddle'is therefore superior in this respect to saddles employing the rigid iron or wood trees. It is also lighter than they are, which is another point of advantage, and it has the continuous back-strap, which heretofore has only been used with saddles having the rigid grooved trees, as stated. The usual pad K is secured to the under side of the'structure shown in Fig. 2.

' to the under side of said skirt.

2. In a harness-saddle, the combination of a continuous skirt having a strap-recess in its middle part, a continuous back-strap which lies upon the skirt and in said recess, and a jockey secured upon the skirt over said strap, with a plate lying against the under side of the middle part of the skirt, there being through this plate, the skirt, and the jockey two holes which lie respectively in front of and behind said strap-recess, bolts passing through said holes, a seat, and a hook secured to the saddle by said bolts.

3. In a harness-saddle, the combination of a continuous skirt having a strap-recess in its middle parta continuous back-strap which lies upon the skirt and in said recess, and a jockey secured upon the skirt over said strap, with a plate lying against the under side of the middle part of the skirt, there being registering holes through this plate, the skirt and the jockey, but not through the back-strap, and a fastening device passing through said holes and engaging with the plate to hold it against the skirt.

4. In a harness-saddle, a tree consisting of a center plate having near each side edge two holes, and two U-shaped wire tree-sections which pass through said holes and extend laterally from said center plate in opposite directions, the loops of said tree-sections being in contact with said plate.

5. In a harness-saddle, a tree consisting of a center plate having near each side edge two holes and a curved groove connecting said holes, and two U-shaped wire tree-sections each of which passes through two of said holes and extends laterally from said plate in opposite directions and has its loop lying in said connecting-groove.

6. In a harnesssaddle, a tree consisting of a center plate having near its middle two holes which are surrounded by depressions in the under side of the plate, and having on each side of said holes two other holes, and two U -shaped wire tree-sections which pass through said holes and extend laterally from said center plate and have their loops in contact with said plate.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

, CHARLES W. MILLER.

Witnesses:

W. H. SMITH, DAIsY RINGENBAOH. 

